HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University baseball team prepares for a pair of midweek contests at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex as the Norse welcome Morehead State on Tuesday and Wright State the following day.
 
First pitch for both contests is set for 3 p.m.  A link to live stats is available at nku.statbroadcast.com, and John Asalon's audio broadcast can be found at NKUNorse.com.  Fans can also keep an eye on the game's progress by following @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.
 
NKU brings a 5-13 overall record into midweek action after topping Miami Hamilton, 4-3, on Thursday.  A sacrifice fly from Caleb Lonkard brought Kyle Colletta, who doubled to center field to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, home to lift the Norse to the victory.  Colletta, Cole Bauml, Quint Heady, Cody Kuzniczci, Logan Spurlin, Clark Pence, Conor Ledger and Dominic Mercurio accounted for NKU's eight hits on the day.
 
Pierce Knisley allowed three runs, just one earned, on five hits over three innings of work in his first collegiate start.  Nick Beard scattered two hits and struck out two in two innings of relief, while Alex Bolia earned his first victory of the season after giving up just one hit in the ninth inning.
 
ABOUT MOREHEAD STATE: The Eagles enter Tuesday's contest 11-10 overall and 3-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference after dropping three games to Belmont over the weekend.  The Bruins cruised to a 9-0 victory in Friday's opener before posting a 10-3 win on Saturday.  Belmont completed the series sweep on Sunday, defeating Morehead State, 5-4.
 
Chris Robinson boasts a .356 batting average lead the Eagles' offense, and he has recorded eight doubles, one triple and two home runs.  He has scored 23 times and driven in 18 runs, and he has successfully stolen five bases in six attempts.  Nick Newell is batting .329 with seven doubles, one triple and one home run, while Kane Sweeney rounds out the over-.300 batters with a .317 batting average and a team-leading four homers.  Brandon Raw, who is hitting .273, leads Morehead State with nine doubles.
 
The Norse are expected to face right-handed pitcher Patrick McGuff on the mound.  McGuff holds a 1-0 record and 1.08 earned run average.  He has allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits in 8.1 innings of work, and he has struck out six batters and walked seven.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST MOREHEAD STATE: Brad Bohlen drove in three runs March 26, 2014, as NKU posted a 7-3 win over Morehead State at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex.  Cody Kuzniczci went 2-for-4 from with a pair of runs scored, while Zac Asman also added two hits.
 
Aric Harris scattered six hits in six innings of work to earn the win.  He allowed three runs and struck out three batters, while Drew Campbell pitched two perfect innings of relief with five strikeouts.
 
Bohlen gave NKU a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run single. Morehead State scored a run in the fourth and plated a pair in the fifth to gain a 3-2 advantage. The Norse responded with two runs in the sixth, the first when Morehead State reliever Noah Smallwood hit Kyle Colletta with the bases loaded to tie the score at 3-all. Bohlen later drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI ground out.
 
Kuzniczci's run-scoring double in the seventh extended the NKU lead to 5-3, and Clark Kellogg followed with a two-run double that gave the Norse insurance.
 
ABOUT WRIGHT STATE: The Raiders are 15-6 overall and 6-0 in the Horizon League before hosting Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday.  Wright State, winners of its last nine contests, is coming off a three-game sweep of Milwaukee, including a 6-5 extra-innings victory over the Panthers on Sunday.  Matt Morrow's two-run double allowed Derrick Garcia and Andrew McCafferty to score in the 13th and lifted the Raiders to the win.
 
Mitch Roman holds a .337 batting average and has recorded five doubles and one triple to lead the Wright State offensive efforts.  Ryan Fucci is hitting .320, and he leads the team in doubles (7), home runs (6), RBIs (17) and runs scored (16).  Mark Fowler is batting .299 for the Raiders, and he has collected six doubles, one triple, 12 RBIs, 13 runs scored and four stolen bases.
 
Right-handed pitcher Jason Foster is expected to take the mound against the Norse on Wednesday.  He pitched four hitless innings in his only appearance of the season.  He struck out two batters and walked one against Xavier on March 11.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST WRIGHT STATE: A sacrifice fly by Andrew McCafferty brought Derrick Garcia home in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Wright State to a 4-3 victory over NKU on March 18.
 
Michael Timm and John Brodner led the way for Wright State, going 2-for-4 from the plate with one run scored.  Timm recorded a double, while Brodner drove in one run.  Mitch Roman went 2-for-5 for the Raiders, who collected nine hits and left eight runners on base.
 
Andrew Elliott earned his first victory of the season, pitching one inning of relief.  He gave up two runs on two hits, and he walked two batters and struck out one.  Starter Jeremy Randolph allowed just one run on six hits in five innings of work.
 
Ryan LeFevers went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and one run scored for the Norse, who recorded nine hits and left five base runners stranded.  David Head finished 3-for-4 from the plate, while Dominic Mercurio collected a two-hit day for NKU as well.
 
Evan Korson (1-2) took the loss for the Norse after 1.1 innings of relief.  He gave up one run on two hits to go with three walks and three strikeouts.  Starter Matt Jefferson surrendered three runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings on the mound, and he struck out four batters and did not walk one.
 
NINTH-INNING OFFENSE: NKU is outscoring its opponent, 12-4, in the ninth inning to make several games this season more interesting.  On March 11, the Norse scored a run in the top of the frame to tie the game at 3-all against Ohio State before the Buckeyes answered with a walk-off hit by pitch for the win.
 
The next day, NKU scored three runs against Dayton to force extra innings, and the Norse added two runs in the top of the 14th for a 10-8 victory in Dayton, Ohio.  NKU also scored two runs in the top of the ninth in the last meeting against Wright State.
 
After tying Thursday's contest against Miami Hamilton in the bottom of the eighth, Caleb Lonkard brought Kyle Colletta home to lift the Norse to a 4-3 victory.
 
SCORELESS RELIEF: Four NKU relief pitchers recorded scoreless outing last week.  Zac Edwards led the way for the Norse, throwing three perfect innings with two strikeouts over two games.  Jake Shaw made two appearances as well and only allowed one hit while striking out two batters.
 
Nick Beard and Alex Bolia each recorded two innings of relief work for NKU last week and gave up just two hits.  Beard struck out two batters and walked one, while Bolia recorded his first win of the season and collected one strikeout.
 
UP NEXT: NKU will play a three-game series against Xavier this weekend.  Friday and Saturday's contests will take place at Hayden Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 3 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.  Sunday's series finale will be at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex at 3 p.m. for NKU's annual Bark in the Park event.